Effect of the Hydrogel Charge as One Microenvironment Factor on the Hepatocellular Phenotype

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of hydrogel charge affected the behaviors of hepatocytes in vitro. The hydrogel charge was adjusted by tuning the cross-linking between the alginate (Alg) and the poly-L-lysine (PLL). HepG2, a human hepatocyte cell line, was conducted as the cell model. The cellular behaviors on hydrogels were measured by cell morphology observation, viability assay, gene and protein expression analysis. As the zeta potential changing from -3.5 mV to -10.6 mV, the corresponding cell morphology transformed from monolayer cultures into aggregates. In addition, the cell behavior was also well correlated with the adsorbed fibronectin on the hydrogel surfaces. It indicated that the surface charges influenced the adsorption of fibrinogen, which might further mediate the behaviors of HepG2 cells. Therefore, hydrogel charges might be used to manipulate hepatocyte behavior in vitro to promote liver tissue engineering research and applications.